TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the 2015 Certificate of Excellence award recipients. A total of 5783 accommodations, eateries and attractions inIndia have been awarded this year. Now in its fifth year, the award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. Certificate of Excellence winners include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a superior customer experience. As 2015 marks the fifth anniversary of the Certificate of Excellence award, TripAdvisor is excited to induct five-time award winners into the “Hall of Fame”. This special designation will be awarded to businesses that have earned a Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years and winners will receive a special ‘Hall of fame’ certificate to recognize their accomplishment. There are a total of 29,042 “Hall of fame” winners worldwide, including 471 in India. To qualify as a ‘Hall of fame’ winner, a business must have won the award in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Speaking on the occasion, Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India said, “It’s fantastic to see more and more businesses winning the award each year and TripAdvisor is pleased to honor the 2015 Certificate of Excellence winners for their exceptional service. Over the years this award has almost become an industry standard that’s synonymous with great hospitality and is a platform for businesses to stand out from the competition. Apart from accommodations and eateries, the Certificate of Excellence is a great way to discover incredible attractions especially with this being the peak summer travel season”.

A special shout to our ‘Hall of Fame’ winners who have consistently won the hearts of travelers from across the globe” he added.

‘Hall of Fame’ winner Taj Palace-New Delhi’s Gaurav Pokhariyal, Area Director Delhi Hotels & General Manager said, “It is delightful to receive the prestigious Certificate of Excellence from the world’s largest travel portal which offers trusted advice from experienced and discerning travelers and acknowledges, rewards and celebrates excellence. With this award Taj Palace reaffirms the practice of perfect hospitality mastered by providing unparalleled standards of quality with unique & memorable experiences.”

Top 5 states with the highest number of Certificate of Excellence winners

State name and total wins

Accommodations

Eateries

Attractions

1. Rajasthan (691)

429

123

139

2. Maharashtra (635)

215

263

158

3. Kerala (606)

405

96

104

4. Karnataka (543)

262

165

116

5. Goa (514)

235

213

66

Ranking of Indian states by business category

Accommodations

Eateries

Attractions

1. Rajasthan (429)

1. Maharashtra (263)

1. Maharashtra (158)

2. Kerala (405)

2. Goa (213)

2. Rajasthan (139)

3. Karnataka (262)

3. Karnataka (165)

3. Karnataka (116)

4. Goa (235)

4. Delhi (126)

4. Kerala (104)

5. Maharashtra (215)

5. Rajasthan (123)

5. Delhi (83)

Top 5 states with the highest number of ‘Hall of Fame’ winners

1. Goa (55)

2. Maharashtra (47)

3. Delhi (28)

4. Karnataka (25)

5. West Bengal (11)

Business Case

According to data collected by TripAdvisor, the Certificate of Excellence awards is correlated to an increase in business enquiries and traveler engagement levels for accommodations. Certificate of Excellence award-winning accommodations see on average 4.39% more OTA propensity (clicks from travelers on an external booking partner link). Moreover, accommodations that are both Business Listings subscribers and Certificate of Excellence winners, see on average 28.09% more activity to their Business Listings (e.g. call click, website click, Special Offer click) compared to non-winners.

The Certificate of Excellence awards can also increase traveler engagement levels for eateries and attractions: eateries with Certificate of Excellence see 13.67% more page views per session compared to non-winners while attractions businesses with a Certificate of Excellence see 8.99% more page views per session than non-winners.

Methodology

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of reviews and opinions submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period as well as a business’s tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site. To qualify for the award, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

TripAdvisor provides businesses with a suite of free resources to help winning properties showcase their success. For example, all winners receive a Certificate of Excellence, which they can display at their establishment, an online badge for use on their website as well as guidelines and best practices on how to promote the achievement locally.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world’s largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 225 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4.9 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 45 countries worldwide. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.